


Marauders Through Space

by Springray



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: But it'll be fun I promise, F/F, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Time Travel, uhh, well yet again I have no idea where this will go, yea idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-03-29 17:09:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19024285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Springray/pseuds/Springray
Summary: Missy decides to create some trouble by kidnapping Clara earlier in her timeline and taking her far away. Away just so happens to be the 1970s in an alternate universe- where wizards are real. Clara and Marlene join forces and have to figure out a way for Clara to get back home, but along the way friendships are made, and she has to wonder... Does she even want to go back?





	1. The beginning

Marlene McKinnon was sitting by the lake near her house on a hot summer day in 1975, trying, and failing, to skip stones across the placid water. It was peaceful, the buzzards buzzing and her blonde hair waving slightly in the cherry scented breeze. It was a break from the bustle of her usual life at Hogwarts, and she cherished the few times a year she got to relax from the high stress situations she usually found herself in, whether she asked for them or not.

She did miss her friends, however, and her beloved girlfriend, and even those pesky boys who always attracted so much attention yet were kind beneath the levels upon levels of mischief and pretentiousness. They were her home away from home, and she loved them all dearly. But she would be the first to admit they did get tiring after a while, and this break was a godsend.

A loud zap sounded in the distance and Marlene jumped up to peer behind where she had been lounging. The lake was surrounded by a meadow, the long grass already yellowing in preparation for autumn, and it almost crackled with electricity as she heard the sharp voice of a woman cackling. Well, it sounded like cackling to Marlene, who grabbed her wand from where it had been resting in the grass nestled in the pocket of her leather jacket. Stumbling to her feet and pushing her hair haphazardly behind her ears, she snuck closer to the noise, which appeared to have come from the old trees behind the meadow. It was darker there, and harder to see, the green foliage disguising a lot of the shapes and creatures that resided there. One thing Marlene was sure of, however, was that no human lived in these woods, or on all of the McKinnon property. Stealth was not Marlene’s strong suit, being used to acting the part of Loud Gay™, and she tripped on a branch upon entering the forest-like area.

Luckily for her, whoever was there wasn’t being particularly attentive to much else besides whoever she was talking to. Scraping the dirt off of her pale pink shirt caused Marlene to swear quietly, but she paused when she saw the scene laid out before her. A woman dressed like Mary Poppins was conversing with a girl, somewhere near the age of Marlene herself, who looked thoroughly bewildered.

“So you see, my dear, you ought to go and make some little friends here, or you’ll be quite lonely, I think. What’s the word for a sidekick’s sidekick? Well, I’ll get back to you on that one, but look for some of those. You, umm, might be here awhile.” She sniggered. “You could even try befriending her.” She turned and stared directly at Marlene, who swallowed and held her wand out further.

“What do you want with me?” She moved to stand in front of the other girl, who wasn’t holding a wand and looked too confused to be a witch. She had brown hair and big brown eyes, which so happened to be Marlene’s weak spot, which was unfortunate. It meant she would probably have to save this muggle from evil Mary Poppins over here. All in a day’s work, Marlene supposed. She was getting tired of the break, anyway.

“And more importantly, what do you want with a poor muggle?” Her voice had a hard edge to it, and her face was no longer in any way pleasant. She meant business. 

“Oh dear, a muggle? I knew this universe was different, but I didn’t mean to bring little Clara here to Harry Potter land. Whoops!” She laughed again. “It’s too late to turn back now. Have fun and tell Mr. Potter that he shouldn’t even try to save you all. His friends and family figures die anyway.” 

“What!?” This was the first thing Marlene had heard the girl, Clara, utter. She was almost amused that it was outrage instead of fear, but she was too focused on her words. Mr. Potter? As in James Potter? And save them from what?

“What do you mean, they all die? That is a major spoiler I didn’t need, thank you very much.” Clara’s anger was audible in every syllable as she stomped towards Scary Poppins. “And where am I, anyway? What do you mean, other universe?”

“Ah, yes, well,” The victorian woman pretended to act flustered before grinning maniacally. “I don’t have time to answer all these questions, dear. It was nice knowing you. I’ll probably see you later. Toodaloo!” She pressed a button on the device on her wrist and vanished with a crack, leaving Clara and Marlene to stare at the spot she had been standing just seconds before.

“Well, hello.” Clara turned to Marlene and held out her hand. “I’m Clara Oswald, and I have no idea where I am. Nice to meet you.”

Marlene couldn’t help but grin at Clara despite the rather dire situation.

“I’m Marlene McKinnon, and I’m going to help you with that. It’s nice to meet you, too.”


	2. Chapter 2

“So, are you actually a witch?” Clara didn’t think she could contain her curiosity. The Harry Potter books were what she had grown up with, but she was only fifteen and the last few hadn’t come out yet. Come to think about it, the whole thing was a bit of a haze, which was strange because she knew she had read them all avidly, and definitely more than once.

Marlene looked as if she was struggling for an answer. She finally settled on a “Yeah, I suppose I am.”

“You suppose? Shouldn’t this be like, a certain answer. I mean, if I was a witch I think I’d be pretty sure.” Clara’s voice was running away with her again. It must be nerves, or confusion, she thought vaguely. Here she was, no idea where she was or how she had gotten there, and she was talking about Harry Potter with an actual witch. Or someone who claimed to be an actual witch.

With what Clara had seen over the past few days, she wasn’t ready to dismiss it like she would have been earlier, but she had to see some proof, first.

“Yeah well, I don’t know how you know about us in the first place but it’s a pretty basic rule to stay hidden from muggles. They do things like, you know, try and set us on fire. Not that it works, pathetic creatures, but it’s the thought that counts.”

Clara had furrowed her brows at the word pathetic and turned her head to the side.

“I’m gonna try not to be offended. I have more important things to think about, anyway. Were you the reason I was brought here?”

Marlene scoffed and kicked at a tree root in the ground.

“Did you not notice that whole thing with that lady? I mean, you’re a muggle and all, so no offense, but I thought at least that was obvious.”

Clara snorted, deciding that if Marlene was an actual witch, she was most definitely a pureblood. In the books, they were usually the snooty ones.

“I didn’t realize you all had such giant egos, excuse me. I meant, do you know her? Is that why she brought me here specifically?” Clara’s opinion of Marlene was dropping with each insult, and her stress level rising considerably.

Marlene, seemingly noticing this, paused for a minute.

“Okay, I’m sorry. I’m not used to talking to muggles, honestly. I have absolutely no idea who she was, I was just hanging out over there,” She pointed to the lakeside, “And heard a giant noise which I came to investigate.” She squinted around as if she could find further clues. “So you have no idea what happened, then?”

“One minute, I was home washing the dishes, when Missy, I think her name is, just appeared behind me. I thought she knew my family or something, but she acted like she knew everything about me. Then she told me something about a doctor? And how apparently, this man is gonna show up and ‘show me the stars.’ I don’t know what happened next, except I somehow ended up here,” She shivered despite the heat, “And that’s all I know.”

Marlene had been listening attentively and nodding. She breathed out a puff of air before responding to Clara.

“Well, you’re on the McKinnon property, and-”

“Hang on a minute, why is it so sunny here? We are still in England, aren't we? It was winter just a second ago…” Her brows furrowed closer still as she realized the drastic change in weather.

“Babe, it’s summer. It’s been summer for about two months, and frankly I’m excited for it to be over. What do you mean it was winter a second ago?” Marlene looked at Clara doubtfully, “You’re not having some weird quarter-life crisis, are you?”

Clara rolled her eyes upward before sighing uneasily. 

“I mean, it was literally snowing five minutes ago. At my house. It was snowing. And now it’s summer? What the hell is going on? What month is it? Or year?”

“There’s one thing I don’t understand about you,” Marlene said, instead of answering her. Her eyes were narrowed as she watched Clara, “Throughout this whole mess, -it is a mess-” She interjected when Clara opened her her mouth to speak, “You haven’t been a bit afraid. You were transported out of your home by a maniacal Mary Poppins and you met a tall, slightly scary blonde girl brandishing a stick that you know is a wand, yet you’re just, you know, standing here. I don’t know many people who would be as calm as you are right now.”

“Yeah, thanks for the personality analysis, but can we get back to possibly figuring out what happened? I’m serious-” She frowned questioningly when Marlene rolled her eyes as if on impulse at the word serious, “What year is it?” 

“1975? Why?”

Clara’s eyes got even bigger than they already were. “It’s what?” Her hands were shaking slightly as she looked down at them, as if to make sure she was really there. “You’re not lying to me? Making it up? I really, really need you to tell me the truth right now.”

“Clara. I promise, I’m not lying. I wouldn’t lie about that. Not when you’re so worried.” Marlene seemed to be arguing with herself, and she evidently decided one way or another when she reached out and grabbed Clara’s hands in her own, looking into her eyes soothingly. “I’ll help you, whatever you need.” 

As Marlene finished talking, Clara’s stomach growled loudly and she blushed. “I guess all that worrying made me hungry. Do you know anywhere I can get food? I think I have a few pounds in my pocket.”

A smile broke out across Marlene’s face as she tugged Clara out of the woods and into the meadow. “I happen to know just the place.”


	3. Chapter 3

The meadow wasn’t very large, but it smelled nice and the waves of yellow grass had a calming effect on most people. This included Clara, Marlene pondered, as they walked towards the cabin on the other side of the field. Clara’s hand was nervously latched onto hers, but while she was still worried (which Marlene completely understood, who wouldn’t be?) Clara seemed to be taking deep breaths and calming herself down. It was remarkable how little she was phased by everything that had happened.

As they reached the cabin, Clara came to a jolted stop as she stared up, her mouth slightly parted in what Marlene could guess was wonder. The house was small, but not tiny, and was painted with a mural that wrapped all the way around it. The main thing that surprised Clara, Marlene noticed, was the fact that the pictures moved. There was the field, waving in the breeze, yellow mixing with the blue of the lake. There were fish swimming. The sky was blue with visual gusts of wind blowing by, softly swaying the trees on the far edge of the property. The house almost blended in with its background, except for the roof and the slightly stylized look of the paintings.

Marlene, unlinking their hands and jumping up the steps, made an extravagant gesture as she bowed and motioned Clara inside.

“M’lady,” She grinned.

Clara smiled back, her big eyes still wide. “I mean, I knew this was possible in Harry Potter but I didn’t realize it was possible! How’d you do it?” She walked up the steps and into the house, Marlene following behind her.

“Okay, I’ll answer you after you answer me this. Why d’you keep saying ‘Harry Potter’? Who the hell is Harry Potter?” She tried to block Clara’s view of the rest of the house, knowing that she would be too distracted to answer her question by all the magic if she saw any of it. It worked, apparently.

“You mean, you don’t know who he is? The boy who liv-” Her voice died away as she looked up into Marlene’s face in realization. “Oh. Oh, it’s early. It’s really, a lot earlier, isn’t it? Like, years too early. You’re- you go to Hogwarts, don’t you.” It wasn’t a question, although Marlene wasn’t sure how she knew this. She was a bit preoccupied by Clara’s babbling. It seemed unlike her.

“Yeah, I do. But I’m afraid I don’t actually know what the hell you’re talking about.” She was starting to feel nauseous with the look Clara was giving her, like she was in grave danger and didn’t know it. She looked at her feet, instead, scuffing her boot lightly against the faded welcome mat.

“I, umm, I have a book, see, that talks about a wizard named Harry Potter. He has to defeat this evil wizard who wants to kill all of the, er, muggles or muggle born witches and wizards.” A dawning look of dread crossed Marlene’s face as Clara plowed on. “And the books haven’t all come out yet, except that now Missy told me, told us, that everyone dies. And I know this doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t to me either, but this all takes place very soon, I think. A few years. I don-”

“Clara.” Marlene wasn’t exactly sure why she stopped her. It may have been the panic she could see behind Clara’s eyes, or her own dread that was building in her stomach and spreading throughout her body and mind. “Please. Take your time. Lord knows I don’t want to know any more than you want to say it.”

Clara stopped breathing as heavily and looked down slightly. “I’m sorry, I truly am. I don’t know what’s coming for you, exactly, but I promise I’ll help as much as possible. I just wish my brain wasn’t so fuzzy about the details.”

Marlene snorted softly. “You have enough on your mind as it is. I don’t blame you in the slightest.” She smiled as Clara’s eyes were brought up to hers again. “Come on, let me show you around.”  


Marlene had made the split second decision that being preoccupied with all the magic in the house would be a good break for Clara, and stepped aside. Clara grinned at her in awe as she noticed all the things in the house she had been ignoring until that point.

“I know we have a serious conversation to finish, but can I have a minute?”

Marlene pushed her in the direction of the bookshelf, getting the feeling that Clara was a book lover. “Indeed you may,” She laughed. The stress and dread were still there, but in this moment she was mostly excited for Clara’s reaction to the talking books. She let the laughter lighten her heart, just a little bit. They would cross the other bridges when they got to them.

Clara made a beeline for Austen.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I realized after writing this that Clara's mother died when Clara was twenty something so just.. I took some creative liberty here

Clara had definite memories of loving the Harry Potter series. She would run home and read them, over and over, caught up in the magic and the world that was so different and so much better than her own. Nothing had prepared her for the feeling of actually being in the world, mixing with the magic like she could feel it on the tip of her tongue. She could almost taste it, and it invigorated her.

The books were her favorite part, as Marlene seemed to have guessed. They talked to her, enveloped her in their world, until she was a part of the story from the moment she opened the cover. She could see what the author had envisioned, but it mixed together with what she had imagined herself and came together in a beautifully intertwined story that she was a part of. She saw Elizabeth, and Mr. Darcy, two of her childhood crushes, standing in front of her, and it was almost too much to handle.

Marlene had to intercept her, tugging the book out of her hands as she emerged from the fantastical headspace with ragged breaths.  
“Clara! I didn’t expect you to have that strong of an imagination or I would’ve warned you first. You have to be careful, some people get quite addicted to books.”

Clara looked at her incredulously through her quick breathing and let out a huff of laughter. “A book addiction? If only my teachers could hear-” She trailed off as she realized exactly what Marlene had said. “Oi! What do you mean you didn’t think I had an imagination?”

Marlene shot a cheeky grin in Clara’s direction. “Oh, I dunno. You just don’t seem the artsy, imaginative type, what can I say?”

Clara swatted her shoulder playfully. It was strange, how easily they could fall into such light banter together. They had known each other for about an hour and easily joked around, even if they did butt heads once in a while.

“I may not be the perfect artist, but I’m an extremely avid reader. I could probably recite Pride and Prejudice backwards, thank you very much.” 

“Well, excuse me for that terrible insult.” Marlene paused a moment, judging something in Clara’s face before continuing, “My girlfriend is always yelling about Austen but I’ve never gotten into it, much to her chagrin.”

Clara hummed thoughtfully. “I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it’s not for everyone.” She tilted her head with mirth in her eyes. “Only us geniuses can handle it, I suppose.”

She could almost see the quick flash of relief in Marlene’s eyes as she opened her mouth indignantly, her eyebrows furrowing in mock anger.  
“Excuse me, just because I’m not the biggest Austen fan doesn’t mean I’m an idiot. I have to say I much prefer Tolstoy, or Dostoyevski.”

Clara could feel her face light up as she heard Marlene. “Wait, really?”

At Marlene’s ‘you-don’t-need-to-sound-so-surprised’ face, Clara pointedly mimicked her earlier statement, “I dunno. You just don’t seem like the academic type.”

“I guess you proved your point this one time,” Marlene said graciously, nose in the air. “Anyway, you should really be careful with that. It’s not the safest hobby, for some people. It seems you’re one of them.” Marlene’s quiet concern was back, and Clara was surprised that she seemed genuinely worried about her.

“In my world, or whatever, books are definitely not addictive. Well, they are, but not in that sense.” She broke off for a minute to let some of the days occurrences sink in a bit more. 

“It’s just- I never really thought anything exciting would happen to me. I would grow up, get a job; I always wanted to travel the world. I had this book, definitely not an addictive one, and I would write down all the places I wanted to go when I was younger. The idea never really left, I guess, but I got weighed down by reality.” There was definitely a sad note to her voice as she thought about it. Her home, everyone she knew, it was all gone for who knew how long. Clara certainly didn’t. 

“Hey, I know this is difficult, of course it is. But I promise you, I will try and help as much as humanly possible.” Clara couldn’t help but smile at the bumbling sincerity Marlene obviously wasn’t too used to showing.

“Thank you. Really.” Clara looked at Marlene seriously as she thanked her from the bottom of her heart. Marlene barely knew Clara, and she really didn’t have to help her. She was doing it out of kindness for a complete stranger, and it touched Clara more than she would like to admit. It wasn’t out of pity like most people did things for her, from the loss of her mother that everyone seemed to know about.

“Aww, you’ll make me blush,” Marlene said in an affectionate tone. “Didn’t you say you were hungry? Lemme make something to eat real quick.” She was already heading towards the kitchen as she called out behind her, “Have any preferences?”

“I’ll eat anything, really.” Clara said agreeably. She followed Marlene into the kitchen and proceeded to spend five minutes staring at all the magical objects she could find. It hadn’t really sunk in yet, the whole magic thing. Many of the utensils and tools did things on their own, and the food had been enchanted to stay warm yet not go bad. It was incredible. 

“So, you just live with all this as an everyday occurrence.” Clara said it matter of factly, and Marlene smiled at her, basking in Clara’s obvious amazement. 

“I do, yes. You get used to it after a while, according to the muggleborns. It’s as natural as breathing to have all these tools to make life easier for me.”

“You’re lucky, then. I’ve not really had much to look forward too, just a boring job and chores after chores. I always wanted excitement, new things to explore, yet I gave up, I think.”

“Clara. You’re here now, you get to get used to magic, and I assure you life is definitely exciting enough. Okay?” She looked down a bit to see Clara eye to eye, which was a little humiliating to the shorter girl. 

“Okay. Yeah, What am I talking about? This is incredibly exciting.” She giggled a bit giddily as she looked around once more, before she balked slightly.

“Marlene, where are your parents?” 

“Oh, them. Don’t worry about it, they’re absolute softies and definitely won’t mind you being here. But if you were worried, they won’t actually be coming here for another three days. On holiday, you know how it is.” She clapped her hands together and spun around jauntily, her long hair slapping Clara’s face as she turned. They both ignored this.

“So, food.”

...

They ended up eating pasta with some sort of tomato sauce that had already been waiting in the fridge. Clara was sat on a barstool at the counter, her legs swishing back and forth underneath her as she basked in the magic. It had gotten dark, and the great open sky was dotted with stars, if Clara had bothered to look out the window. Her new friend seemed absorbed in her homework for the time being, using, to Clara’s great amusement, a quill. She had read about wizards using quills, of course, but it never really translated into real life for her until she was watching a giant feather drag across a foot of parchment. They were so.. Not modern. She smiled to herself sleepily, gazing at Marlene as she pushed a few wavy strands of hair behind her ear distractedly. She couldn’t deny Marlene was attractive, with her sharp jaw and long lashes. Even her fashion was appealing to Clara. It was peak gay, all leather and doc martens, harsh but creative. It reminded Clara of herself, or the person she wanted to be if she could ever achieve it. It just looked so much cooler on Marlene.

She blinked awkwardly when she realized Marlene had noticed her staring, and grinned a bit guiltily. “I don’t know what to do.” She had been referring to her situation, the first thing that had popped into her mind. Marlene seemed to take it a bit more literally.

“It’s pretty late, by now. Do you want to sleep? There’s no guest bedroom here but you can use my parent’s room, since they’re not here.”  


“I don’t want to be any trouble. I can sleep on the couch.” Marlene groaned loudly.

“Look, if one of us was going to sleep on the couch, it would be me. You’re the guest and my mum isn’t a manners freak for nothing.”

“Okay,” Clara backed down easily. “At least let me clean the plates.” She had turned around towards the sink by the time she said this, so she missed Marlene’s look of absolute horror. 

“Clean the plates? What the hell are y- oh. Muggle. Right. Just place it into the sink, it’s charmed to clean anything in it.”

Clara giggled in delight as she watched the plates get scrubbed clean effortlessly. 

“You know, I was worried I would be homesick, but being here, with you, just makes me realize how bored I was of my own life.” Clara said. “My dad’ll be worried, though.”

Her dad had been through enough already, losing his wife far before her time and having to raise his daughter alone afterwards. As she thought about it, she realized how awful it would be if her father was waiting for her at home, only for her to never return. She felt herself become more determined to find a way home.

“So what’s your family life like, anyway? If I can ask.” 

For some reason Clara decided she could tell Marlene about her mother. Usually, she held it back, didn’t want the pitying glances and awkward silences. With Marlene, it seemed different.

“Well, really it’s only my dad and me. And my gran…” As Marlene showed her the room and gave her some necessities, Clara’s life story practically came tumbling out of her mouth. They ended up lying on top of the covers, talking, until late into the night.

In the morning, Clara woke up to Marlene’s soft breathing beside her as the birds chirped merrily, and she felt a great sense of peace despite her situation.


	5. Chapter 5

They decided breakfast would be a good idea before they had a real discussion about Clara’s situation. It turned into a break for tea as well, and then they thought it would be nice for Marlene to give Clara a tour of the land outside. It was a perfect day for a picnic, and they had all day to talk. Lunch turned into a large affair, picnic blanket and twenty different types of food, just to try. They had all day. By four o’clock, they could be found sitting outside in the shade of an old tree, weaving flower crowns the old fashioned way. Marlene had shown Clara their large selection of flowers, mostly magical, and Clara had sat herself down and refused to budge. She said she wanted to make something nice for Marlene, the muggle way, and had refused to use any of the self-weaving flowers that were on display in order to create her own version. 

“You really don’t have to,” Marlene told her for the hundredth time. “It looks like a lot of work.”

“Have you ever experienced real labor in your entire life?” Clara’s hands deftly attached flower to pretty flower, creating a mass of purples and pinks and blues and greens.

Marlene stared at her affrontedly, but Clara only sniggered. “Oh, don’t make a bloody flower crown by yourself, it’s too much work! How old are you, five?”

“I just have time management skills! Shut up.” She answered crossly when Clara only laughed harder. “I’ve worked plenty hard.”

“Okay, okay. Sure.” Clara’s eyes sparkled with mirth when Marlene pushed her moodily, before dropping the finished product on Marlene’s head. Her mouth formed the perfect ‘o’ of surprise when she reached up and felt it delicately, not having realized Clara was almost done. She smiled happily at Clara.

“I love it.” Her eyes crinkled in the corners and Clara could tell that she genuinely loved it. It made her happy to make Marlene happy.

“My parents’ll be back by sometime tomorrow, do you think it’ll stay fresh until then? I know the perfect preserving charm but I’m not allowed magic until we’re on the train to Hogwarts again.” The thought that Clara’s beautiful creation could wither away brought all the seriousness back to Marlene’s face.

“I think it’ll stay that long,” Clara mused. “But even if it doesn’t, couldn’t your parents use a spell to revitalize them?” 

“Good point.”

“I try my best.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence before both speaking at once.

“I think-”

“I guess it’s-”

Clara’s mouth twitched upward and she gestured for Marlene to speak first, guessing what she was going to say before she said it. Clara had been about to say the same thing, after all.

“However much I hate to say it, I think we should try and figure out what happened or what we should do next.”

“I was gonna say that too, but at the same time I’m completely clueless. Honestly, I have no idea what the hell I’m supposed to be doing.”

Marlene hummed in agreement. “I suppose we start from the beginning. What did that scary lady say to you again? About why you're here.”

“She wanted to make trouble, and she said she was messing with this doctor guy’s timeline. He was the one who I’m apparently gonna fly away with, whatever the hell that means.” Clara looked doubtful as she said it.

“And she just drops you off here.”

“Yeah, saying I would ‘be here for a while’, which I’m thinking means she might never come back.”

“But she seemed certain that you would meet this man, so you’ll probably be able to go back eventually.” Marlene did not sound at all sure of herself.  
“Okay, but I have no idea how long that could take. Years, maybe. And my dad won’t know what happened, and it might just kill him.”

“I know this’ll sound useless, but I don’t think you should dwell on the things you can’t change just yet. We should go back and look at the place you apparated to.”

Clara laughed a bit breathlessly. “I don’t think it was apparition. Which sounds insane just to say, by the way. But she was playing with this thing on her wrist that pulled us here, and she touched it again to leave.”

“So it was some weird science thing? You don’t know it wasn't magic.”

“It wasn't magic. In my universe, there isn’t magic. It’s just not a thing that happens.”

Marlene gasped quietly, causing Clara’s head to turn towards her quickly as an idea formed. “What?”

“You know, now that you’re in a different universe, maybe you’re different too. Maybe you can do magic,” Her eyes glittered excitedly, and she started pulling her wand from her pocket. “I can’t do magic during the holidays, but nothing’s stopping you.”

Clara looked at her skeptically, but reached over to grab the wand when Marlene held it out insistently. A slight breeze flew around her as she touched it, and her hair rose above her head and started moving about as she held it. It felt nice, and calming, in her hand. Clara had never felt anything like it.  
When she looked up, Marlene was staring at her with her mouth gaping open and eyes wide. 

“I know I said you might be a witch, but bloody hell, I didn't actually think-” She was interrupted by her own incredulous laughter. “Try a spell, then. An easy one, like… lumos. Just point and say it.”

Clara had been sitting there slightly dumbfounded, not really registering what had just happened as Marlene spoke. She shook her head slightly, a grin forming on her face as she held the wand and said the charm. While a light didn’t exactly come out of the wand, per se, she was able to feel it grow warmer in her hand, and a tiny spark flew out. It was a red spark, not that it really meant anything.

“What, excuse my language, the FUCK.”

Clara and Marlene looked at each other briefly, before they couldn't contain themselves and both let out gulps of breathless laughter that didn’t stop for over a minute.

“I’m a witch.” Clara told Marlene.

“Yes you are.” Marlene replied.

Clara fondled the wand in her hand, content to hold it and feel the power that coursed through her veins.

“What now?” She finally asked, after the weight of their discovery had dimmed slightly in her mind.

“Well, we can ask my parents for advice. And I forgot to mention, I have plans for school shopping the day after, with some friends of mine. If you haven’t figured out anything else you could always come with-”

Clara glanced at Marlene when she stopped talking mid sentence, looking mindblown.

“What?”

Her voice had changed completely from a few seconds before as she replied, “They knew. All along, they knew.”

Clara felt unease stir in her stomach as she replied, “Who knew? Knew what?”

“Hogwarts, maybe Dumbledore even. They sent- of course!- When I was eleven, and got my Hogwarts letter, we got a second letter as well. We thought it was some kind of mistake, we contacted the school about it and everything, but they just told us something nondescript and didn’t give us any real answers. But my friends and I, we made it into a whole big mystery and we tried to find the true recipient of the letter for over a year. It was written to someone called Clara. I can’t believe I didn’t realize!”

“So you’re telling me-” Clara didn’t even finish her sentence, she was too stunned to string the words together.

“I really think that they knew. They knew you would be coming all along. They prepared for it since we were eleven. Or, I was eleven, you weren’t even born yet.”

“But that makes no sense! I don’t know anything! They expect me to go to Hogwarts, completely unprepared, and just… what? Become a student? Never go home? Never...” She trailed off, thinking desperately of her father.

Marlene reached out and grabbed her hand softly between her own, rubbing comforting circles into her palm.

“Maybe that's not what they meant by it.” Clara could tell that even Marlene didn’t believe herself as she said it, but she appreciated the valiant attempt at reassurance anyway.

“Maybe not. Maybe your parents know more than they let on to you.” Clara’s voice only shook a little as she spoke. This day…Clara had never gone through so many highs and lows so quickly in her entire life. And although it was incredibly difficult for her, she couldn’t lie to herself well enough to make herself believe she didn't enjoy all the excitement at least a little.

“They could know more. Maybe Dumbledore spoke to them and told them not to tell me what they know. Should I send them a letter and ask?”

“No,” Clara answered quickly. “I don’t want to disturb them any more than we have to. We can wait until tomorrow to find out. For now you can, I dunno, teach me magic?”

“Oh yeah,” Marlene’s face lit up immediately, and she reminded Clara a bit of a golden retriever. Well, a golden retriever who wore a spiked collar and had a giant stubborn streak, but still.

As Clara went to pick up the wand, she looked down awkwardly to where Marlene was still holding her hand. Marlene grabbed her hand away as if it was burnt, looking anywhere but Clara’s face as she realized what she had been doing.

“So…” Clara cleared her throat loudly. “I guess I should keep trying the lumos spell?”

“Right, yeah. It’s really quite easy once you get the hang of it.” Marlene grinned uncertainly. “We’ll need it soon, anyway,” she added, looking up at the quickly darkening sky.

 

A half an hour later, Clara could produce a weak light from the wand and all awkwardness had been left behind. They ended up lying on their backs in the grass, watching the first stars appear in the evening sky.

“Don’t you have astronomy classes?” Clara asked, moving her head to gaze at Marlene.

“Yeah, but don’t expect me to tell you anything about it. I guess the answers for all that shit.” She answered, still staring at the sky.  
Clara snorted, her eyes tracing the outline of Marlene’s face intently.

“You know,” She said after a pause, “I’ve never met anyone like you.”

“Me neither. Like you, obviously. I’ve met myself.” She moved her head to look back at Clara, who smiled at her sweetly. “Why do you say that, though? Other than the obvious.”

“What, that you’re a witch?”

“No, that I’m much more fabulous.”

“Of course. Well, you’re so accepting, and kind, and bold. When I got here yesterday I was so overwhelmed and unsure, but being with you has changed everything. If you hadn’t been there, just acting the way you do, I don’t think I would have even survived this long. This sounds like a love poem..” She trailed off, realizing that she should probably stop staring at Marlene at this point.

When she looked away, she felt Marlene's hand close around her own.

"Clara? Thank you."


End file.
